I thk my child may be gay: 6 thgs parents n do

Contents:

• HOW DO I DISCS BEG GAY WH MY 8-YEAR-OLD?
• AT WHAT AGE DO KIDS INTIFY AS GAY?
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
• OUR SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON TOLD HE WAS GAY
• IS AN 8-YEAR-OLD TOO YOUNG TO KNOW HE’S GAY?
• IS YOUR CHILD GAY?

HOW DO I DISCS BEG GAY WH MY 8-YEAR-OLD?

Q: My 8-year-old son asked what means to be gay. This might sound somethg like, "Sometim men fall love wh men and women fall love wh women - when they do, we ll a 'gay' relatnship.

" The qutn of why is lled gay is a whole different story, but the good news is that when you don't know the answer to a qutn, is perfectly fe to simply say, "You know, I don't know the answer to that!

" Some parents may fear that if they tell their younger children that "gay" is what means when people of the same genr are attracted to each other that they will be forced to answer qutns about sexual relatns between same sex upl, but my experience that is rarely the se - don't occur to most kids that age to ask.

AT WHAT AGE DO KIDS INTIFY AS GAY?

Some parents also fear that tellg a younger child that sometim men are attracted to men and women are attracted to women will put ias their kids' heads about "beg gay" themselv. When did you first know that you were gay? Some kids know they are gay high school but don’t tell anyone until years later.

One of the ma issu wh trackg when kids start to intify as gay is that most people assume that all kids start out straight.

The realy is that many kids know they are gay at a younger age than you might expect – even elementary school. They found that one percent of kids ag 9-10 intify as gay, bisexual, or transgenr.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"

48% of College Stunts Knew They Were Gay High School. While a portn of kids intify as gay elementary school, what is the age when most kids e out as gay?

That beg said, some rearchers om the Sexualy Informatn and Edutn Council of the Uned Stat talked wh llege stunts who intify as gay and bisexual to learn when they were aware of their sexual preferenc. 48% of gay and bisexual llege stunts knew their sexual preferenc high school. 20% of gay and bisexual men knew junr high school pared to six percent of women.

OUR SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON TOLD HE WAS GAY

17% of gay and bisexual men knew gra school pared wh 11% of women.

IS AN 8-YEAR-OLD TOO YOUNG TO KNOW HE’S GAY?

This data prov the vast majory of LGBTQ+ kids intify as gay before they leave for llege – or intify their sexual preferenc shortly after. There isn’t a that flips when kids turn 18 that term whether or not they are gay. In some s, the olr adults didn’t realize that openg up about beg gay was an optn.

One man, Kenh Felts, knew he was gay om the age of 12. “As long as I was the closet, all of my cisns — both nsc and subnsc — were guid by not wantg people to know I was gay, ” Felts told the Washgton Post.

When parents learn that their child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, they n experience a range of emotns. As a matter of fact, you might someday look back and fd that you are grateful for the experience of havg a gay or lbian child. Well, my study of 65 fai of gay and lbian youth for the book, Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Gay or Lbian Child, I found that some parents get to the pot where they believe that the experience of havg a gay child actually ma them a better person—more open-md and sensive to the needs of others, particularly those other mory groups.

IS YOUR CHILD GAY?

If you jt found out your child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, you may be thkg that such ias are prepostero. The tstworthy nfidants let them vent but also rrected some of the misperceptns they absorbed om society, such as that gay people are lonely, unhappy, promiscuo, not fay-oriented, unable to have children, or sted for an unhappy life. Contact Parents, Fay, and Friends of Lbians and Gays (PFLAG).

List of Helpful Books for Parents of Gay and Lbian Children. Straight Parents Gay Children: Keepg Fai Together (revised edn).